Life's a Beach
Chapter 2
A/N - Thanks to everyone who's following this story! I love the reviews. Sadly, my vacation on Hilton Head Island is over and I'm back in the rainy, cold northeast. Let's see what's up with these two.
Bella hardly remembered the walk back to the two bedroom condo she and her roommates were sharing for their vacation. In some part of her mind, she was aware of colors – the soft blue of the early morning ocean, the grey-brown of the pelicans skimming the surface of the water in search of breakfast. And textures – the squishy, clumpy wet sand that changed to soft, slippery dry sand as she made her way up the beach. She opened the door, almost surprised she'd managed to find it with her brain otherwise engaged, and breathed in the cool air-conditioned air.
"Nice walk?"
Bella looked up to see her best friend and roommate Alice sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine. "Yeah, it was pretty…." The memory of those beautiful green eyes filled her head and she trailed off, not sure how to describe the walk that started out wonderful and became something even more wonderful.
"Okay" said Alice, tossing the magazine to the side. "What happened?"
"What makes you think anything happened?" Bella opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. She looked down at her legs and grimaced when she remembered exactly how sand covered she was.
"For starters, you stopped talking in the middle of a sentence, and even though I know how much you love this place, you are completely distracted. Second, you won't look me in the eyes. And third of all" Alice gave Bella a good once over "you are covered in sand and wearing a shirt that doesn't belong to you. What the hell, Bella?"
Rosalie emerged from the second bedroom. "What did Bella do now?"
Bella narrowed her eyes at Alice. "Bella didn't do anything. I just went for a walk on the beach. I'm not wasting a second of our time here, and that means I get to enjoy the sun coming up over the beach while you two are still in bed."
"Don't try to change the subject" said Alice.
"You might as well tell us" said Rose. "You know she's going to get it out of you."
Bella knew Rose was right. Alice was like a human lie detector. It was impossible to hide anything from her for long, so she and Rose had learned early on not to even try. "Okay, I'll tell you. But after I take a shower. Like you said, I'm covered in sand and it's getting everywhere."
Grudgingly, Alice agreed. "Fine. I don't want to spend the week sweeping up sand."
Rosalie snorted. "Like you ever sweep up anything. You wouldn't know a vacuum cleaner if you tripped over it."
Even Alice had to laugh at that one. "True, true. Okay, Bella, go take your shower. Just tell us one thing. Was there a guy involved in getting you all disheveled?"
Bella smiled mischievously. "Oh yeah, definitely. He was absolutely gorgeous, with this reddish brown hair and beautiful eyes, the most amazing smile and a face to die for." She headed toward the bathroom, knowing Rose and Alice were hanging on her every word. "And he had really big….paws. Four of them." With that she scooted into the bathroom and closed the door before the pillow Alice threw at her could make contact.
LAB
Thirty minutes later, the three friends sat on the balcony sipping coffee and watching the ocean.
"Admit it, Alice. Bella got you good with that one." Rose smirked. "So what was the story with the dog?"
"I was just walking along, enjoying myself when this huge golden retriever ran up behind me and knocked me down. I landed in the water, got soaking wet which made my shirt embarrassingly transparent, and his owner felt bad and gave me his shirt to cover up."
Alice perked up at that. "You didn't say anything about the dog's owner. What was he like?"
Bella couldn't help the blush that spread across her face. "He was gorgeous too, actually. And he was really sweet. I mean, he couldn't stop apologizing." She frowned. "And he offered to take me out for coffee…"
"Tell me you said yes, Bella." Alice glared. "When life throws a beautiful, charming man in front of you, you have to say yes."
"I was going to" Bella admitted "but then the dog took off with his sandal and he had to go chase him."
"Please tell me you at least got his name" sighed Rosalie. She exchanged a look with Alice. They were determined to make sure their friend had a good time on this vacation. Bella was the one who always took care of everyone else, and it was time that they took care of her.
"It's Edward. And he said he'd find me." Bella looked down at her coffee, not wanting to hope he meant it. "You know, so I could return his shirt."
"I bet he wants to do more than get his shirt back" said Alice.
"Yeah, you and me both" admitted Bella with a grin. "He was pretty amazing."
Alice gave her hand a quick squeeze, then pulled out the magazine she'd been reading. "I think we should take turns deciding where to go for dinner each night. I went through this restaurant guide to figure out where we should go tonight. I found this place that sounds really good."
"What it is?" Rosalie asked. "I'm ready for some great seafood."
"It's called Jasper's Pub" said Alice, reading from the menu. "Specializing in local seafood, which will make Rose happy, it has an amazing dessert menu, which will make Bella happy, and a great beer selection, which will make all of us happy. And they have music, too."
Bella and Rose high-fived their friend. "It sounds perfect" said Bella. "Now can we hit the beach?"
LAB
Edward loved his dog, really he did, but he didn't know whether to hug him or scold him after his run in – literally - with the beautiful girl named Bella Swan. Winter at home was cold, so running on the beach in January was a real treat, and he couldn't resist taking the overgrown puppy with him. He was doing so good chasing and retrieving the ball. When Aro took off and ran past the ball toward the brunette, Edward felt a sickening feeling in his gut as he knew what was gonna happen. All he could do was watch as Bella fell in slow motion into the water.
He sprinted up the beach, cringing in anticipation of what he would find. Instead of a sobbing mess of a girl, he found her laughing. Laughing! He started to laugh too, in relief more than anything else, until he noticed what the water had done to her tee shirt. His eyes widened as he took in her curves. He made himself look at her face – not her chest, Edward, he scolded – and nearly melted at her chocolate brown eyes and flushed cheeks. He wanted to make her laugh like that every day.
Just when he thought he'd set up a coffee date, damn if Aro didn't take off again down the beach with his sandal. At least he had her name. Edward was only in Hilton Head for a few more days, but he was confident he could track her down. His cousin knew everyone on the Island, and together, he was sure they could find her.
Edward grimaced when he saw that Aro was now rolling around in the sand, apparently showing off for a little girl with blond pigtails who was building a castle. Oh well, getting sand in his fur was always a possibility when you took a dog on the beach. He jogged up to the dog and called for him. "Aro! Come here." The big dog simply smiled at him, and rolled over one more time for good measure. That gave Edward enough time to close in and grab him by the collar.
"What a cute dog you have" came a sultry voice. Edward turned to find that the little girl was getting some help on the sand castle from a twenty something woman in a very small bathing suit. "What's his name?"
"Right now his name is bad dog" said Edward, with what he hoped was a polite but non-committal smile. "Have a good day" he said, and took off down the beach. The woman was pretty enough, but all he could picture was the lovely Ms. Swan. He needed a plan to find her, and soon. Silently he reviewed what he knew about her. When Aro hit her, Bella was walking north on the beach, but Edward didn't know if she was going toward her place or away from it. He scolded himself for not turning around to try and see where she went.
Edward reached his cousin's place and picked up the hose. He turned the water on and did his best to get the sand out of Aro's fur. It would suck if he dragged sand all over the place. When he was done, Aro gave his usual big shake and then trotted up the back stairs. Edward stepped inside, drying his hair with a beach towel. He took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of bacon. He laughed when he saw his cousin wearing a "Kiss the Chef" apron. "That's a good look for you."
"Thanks. Want some breakfast?"
"Sure, if you're cooking."
"How was the beach this morning? Aro any better behaved today than he was the last few days?"
Edward just shook his head. Every morning this week he'd had a story about something Aro did while they were out for their morning jog. "Well, he didn't steal any food this morning, or get tangled in any fishing lines, or run away with some kid's kite."
"But…?"
"But he did take off down the beach and run smack into the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Knocked her flat on her ass in the water."
"Maybe he was just trying to help you, you know, do a little matchmaking. Was she okay?"
Edward ran his hand through his hair. "She was fine, and an incredibly good sport about it. She actually laughed about it." He didn't mention the whole tee shirt thing. That was kind of personal, he thought. "She had a great laugh."
"Sounds like somebody is a little smitten" said his cousin as he scooped eggs and bacon onto two plates.
Edward grinned. "Yeah, I guess I am."
"So why didn't you ask her out? Did you even get her name?"
"I asked her for coffee, but Aro took off down the beach and I had to chase after him." Edward took a seat at the table. "But I got her name. Bella."
"Does she live up to her name?"
"Beautiful? Yeah" said Edward. "She really does. I just had this feeling….when I helped her up it was like, this is someone I really want to know. You have to help me find her."
"Sure, let's do it. But remember, you're playing tonight."
Edward dropped his head into his hands. "Right, I forgot."
"I wouldn't ask but I really need you tonight. Seth won't be back from Florida till tomorrow and you know how much the tourists love the music. But I promise, tomorrow we'll find your mystery woman."
Edward exhaled and gave his cousin a sincere smile. "Thanks, Jasper. You're the best."